Instant gift package



March 25, 1969 B. FRISCO 3,434,645

INSTANT GIFT PACKAGE Filed July 27, 1967 INVENTOR. ems/o PE/ 5 c o BYMada/W United States Patent 3,434,645 INSTANT GIFT PACKAGE BiagioPrisco, 811 NE. 70th St., Miami, Fla. 33138 Filed July 27, 1967, Ser.No. 656,590 Int. Cl. B65d /32, 65/12 US. Cl. 2298 1 Claim ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A predecorated package including a box top and bottomeach of which are separately covered with a decorative overlay to permitseparation thereof without disturbance of the overlay, said overlayincluding specially folded and overlying portions to give the appearanceof a unitarily wrapped package, and a box specially folded to give theappearance of a unitarily wrapped package are disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Description of theprior art Efforts have been made previously to provide a package whichsimulated the appearance of a neatly wrapped gift package without thenecessity of wrapping after the box is closed with the contents therein.Such efforts have been directed to the inclusion of ribbons on the topportion of the box or to ribbons on both the top and the bottom.However, in all cases heretofore the box retains its original appearancerather than the appearance of a wrapped container for the reason that nofolds appear to give the appearance of a wrapped gift package. Effortshave been made to provide a decorative coating directly upon the surfaceof a box or other container but in this case, as in the previouslydescribed case, the sought after effect has not been achieved because ofthe absence of folds and overlays which inherently andcharacteristically result from the proper gift wrapping of a box orother package. It is, accordingly, an object of this invention toprovide an instant gift package comprising a box having top and bottomportions each of which are wrapped with decorative paper or other sheetmaterial to form actual folds and overlays to substantially duplicatethe appearance of a gift wrapped package, said wrapping being securedindividually to the top and the bottom portions such that the tops andthe bottoms may be separated without disturbing the gift wrappedappearance.

SUMMARY Briefly and without intending to limit the scope of theinvention, the instant gift package of this invention comprises, in oneembodiment, separate top and bottoms for a box of any convenient sizeand shape, each of the top and bottom being wrapped with a decorativepaper or other sheet material to expose on the sides thereof an unfoldedwrapped appearance and to expose on the ends thereof folded and overlaidportions of the wrapping material to give the appearance of a unitarilywrapped package, said top and bottom being individually wrapped topermit separation without disturbance of the wrapping.

3 ,434,645 Patented Mar. 25, 1969 In another embodiment, a decorativelycoated box is formed by folding and overlaying the ends of the top ofthe box to give a distinct and pleasing folded appearance without thenecessity of providing a separate overlay wrapping. It is, accordingly,an object of this invention to provide a separable gift box having theappearance of a single unitarily Wrapped package.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a gift box whereinthe box material is folded and overlaid to give the appearance of a giftwrapped package.

Yet an additional object of the invention is the provision of a boxhaving a specially formed overlay wrapping to give the distinctiveappearance of a single unitarily wrapped package wherein the folds andoverlays are disposed at the ends of the box and the sides thereofexhibit only a smooth wrapped appearance.

A further object is to provide a fold system and means for decoratingboxes and packages.

The specific combinations, elements, and relative construction asdisclosed hereinafter constitute further and important objects of theinvention.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from thespecification which follows and from the drawings to which reference isnow made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of afirst embodiment of the invention showing a top and a bottom for a boxwith the overlay wrapped thereon.

FIGURE 2 is a partial view of an end of the top of the box showing thefold and overlay arrangement of the sheet wrapping material thereon.

FIGURE 3 is a partial view of a corner of the bottom of the box showingthe fold and overlay arrangement for covering the bottom portion of thebox.

FIGURE 4 is an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein thedecorative features are coated directly on the box top and the box topis folded to give a gift wrapped appearance.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the blank for forming the box of FIGURE 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following description isgiven with reference to a square or rectangular box, the square being aspecial case of the rectangle, but it will be understood that boxes ofany size or shape may be used without departing from the spirit of theinvention. For example, a hexagonal or octagonal box may be usedaccording to the teachings andscope of this invention to provide apleasing appearance of a unitarily wrapped gift package. It is,accordingly, expected that the description which follows will be viewedas exemplary and not limiting.

In a preferred embodiment, the package comprises a top 10 and a bottom12 of a box, both of which may be of conventional construction. The top10 includes a top side portion 14 with depending sides 16 and 18 anddepending ends 20 and 22 extending downwardly therefrom. The corners ofthe sides 16, 18, 2t) and 22 may be glued or otherwise secured togetherin any conventional manner. A wrapping is provided, as best illustratedin FIGURES 1 and 2, reference now being made to FIGURE 2 in particular,one edge 24 of which issecured interiorly along the side 16 and anotheredge of which is secured interiorly along the side 18, as shownrespectively in FIGURES 2 and l. The wrapping may be of any desiredmaterial. In common practice, printed or otherwise decorated paper willbe most often used; however, any flexible sheet material such asdecorated plastic may be used if desired without departing from thescope of the invention. The only requirement is that the sheet materialbe quite 3 flexible, capable of being folded easily, and have adecorative appearance.

Folds and overlying portions are formed at the ends 20 and 22 of the boxtop. FIGURE 2 shows the arrangement for folding and overlaying thewrapping material on the end 22; however, it will be understood that thesame arrangement is utilized on the end 20 of the box.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, a careful study of the figure will indicatethat the wrapping is generally rectangular in shape having edges whichare secured at 24 and 26 as described and having one or more flaps,shown at 28 and 30, extending from the sides proximate each end thereof.As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, flaps 28 and 30 are adapted to extendacross the end of the box to cover or to substantially cover the end togive the desired decorative appearance. As best shown in FIGURE 2, theflaps 28 and 30 partially overlie each other when they are in positionon the end 22 of the box. Fold lines 32 and 34- permit the fiap 28 tolie with the decorated side exposed outwardly and, similarly, Holds 36and 38 permit the outer decorated side of flap 30 to be exposed, inoverlying relationship with respect to flap 28. If desired, a portion ofthe flaps 28 and 30, shown at 40 and 42, extend out and are folded alongthe line corresponding to the edge of the box top.

A fold line 44 is substantially cOlinear with the edge of the box topand is intersected by a diagonal fold line 46 and, in similar manner, afold line 48 and a diagonal fold line 50 are provided on the ends of thecovering sheet material. An additional fold line 52 defines a flap 54which is secured to an end portion 56 to permit adhesion of the fla-pinside the box top. The outer decorated surface of the end portion 56,and portions 58 and 60, as well as the flaps 28 and 30, are exposed whenthe fold is completed and the flap 54 is glued or otherwise securedinside the depending Wall 22. This configuration is best shown withrespect to the end wall 20 in FIGURE 1 wherein the various portions aredenominated by corresponding primed numbers. Thus, in looking at the end20 of the box top, the central area is covered by an end portion 56which is held in place by a strip 54'. Flaps 28' and 30' are exposedunderneath portions 58 and 60. It will be apparent that the sameappearance is given as if the entire box has been wrapped according toconventional practice.

The box bottom 12 is constructed in a similar manner and has a bottomwall 70 and upwardly extending side walls 72 and 74 and upwardlyextending end walls 76 and 78, the side walls being glued or otherwisesecured together according to conventional practice. A covering isprovided on the bottom portion in a manner similar to that previouslydescribed with respect to the box top except that no extending flaps arerequired in this embodiment. A rectangular sheet of decorative materialis glued, as by a line 80, along the ends for example in 78, of the boxand extends beyond the side 74 thereof. The extended portion is providedwith a crease shown at 82 and a diagonal crease shown at 84 to permitthe extension to lie against the side wall 74. A creased line 86 isprovided which runs diagonally from the bottom corner of the box bottom.An additional crease line 88 runs parallel to the box bottom and definesa flap 90 which is used for securing the extension inside the Wall 74.The flap 90 is secured by the (fold line 88 to the extension portion 92which, as best shown in FIGURE 1, lies against the side 74 with theexterior decorated side exposed. Thus, as best shown in FIGURE 1, thedecorative sheet covering material is exposed on the ends and on theside, the side being substantially covered by the portion 92 with only asmall portion 94 being exposed as the result of the configuration of thecreases 82, 84 and 86. An overlapping double crease is provided alongline 96 in the center of the bottom of the box for taking up any slackand to give the appearance of the joined edges of the wrapping material.Thus, when viewed from the top, the completed box gives the appearanceof a single layer of wrapping, as would a unitarily wrapped box. Whenviewed from either side, a similar appearance is given, as is the casewith a unitarily wrapped box. When viewed from the bottom, the doublecrease with an overlying tongue gives the appearance that results whenthe edges of the wrapping material are folded together. When viewed fromeither end, the box gives the appearance of folds in the wrapping aswould appear in a unitarily wrapped package. The package appears, then,in all respects to be the same as a unitarily wrapped package; however,since the edges of the wrapping material on the top or the bottom aresecured on the interior sides of the side walls, the top and the bottommay be separated from each other without disturbing the wrapping.

While, heretofore, a decorative box has been utilized in departmentstores and the like, it has always been necessary to provide anadditional gift wrap counter to give the genuine appearance of a Wrappedarticle. This is no longer necessary by utilization of the principlesand the constructions disclosed herein. An instant gift package isalways available to the clerk. All that is necessary is to place thearticle in the package and combine the top and the bottom according toconventional practice and the gift package has the appearance from allangles of a unitarily wrapped gift package, thus decreasing the timeinvolved for the clerk and obviating the necessity of providing aseparate gift wrap counter with string, paper, tape, etc. While notshown, because it is of universal practice, it is possible andconvenient to provide ribbons over the prewrapped top and bottom tocomplete the decor. This latter practice is known in the prior art anddisclosed, for example, in United States Patent No. 1,777,716, issued toCase.

While the preceding embodiment is most advantageous, an alternativeembodiment is disclosed and is illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5. In thisembodiment, the top 100 and the bottom 102 fit together as inconventional practice. The bottom is conventional in that it includes abottom wall and upwardly extending side walls and ends 106, 108, and112. The cardboard is coated with an adherent or bonded decorativematerial. It may be a decorative coating applied in fluid conditiondirectly on the cardboard or it may be an overlay bonded with thecardboard. The top 100 includes a top wall portion 114, side wall andend wall portions 116, 118, and 122.

In this embodiment, the decorative coating is applied to the cardboardof which the box is formed and the folds are made in the cardboard. Ablank for forming the top is shown in FIGURE 5. The top wall and theside wall portions 114, 116, and 118 are formed as in conventionalpractice. The end wall 122, however, is formed in a specially designedfolded configuration to give the same appearance as would appear in awrapped package. It will first be noted that tabs 124 and 126 extendoppositely from the sides adjacent to the end of the blank. Similar tabsextend at the other end of the blank but are not shown for purposes ofclarity. It will be understood that the other end of the blank issimilar in all respects to that described with respect to FIGURE 5. Acrease corresponding to the tab, shown at 128, is provided to define theend of the box top. A pair of relatively diverging diagonal creasescores extend from the intersection of tab 124 with the side 116,indicated at 130 and 132. Similar diverging diagonal crease scoresextend from the intersection of side 116 with the top wall 114, as shownat 134 and 136. Similiarly, diverging crease scores 138 and 140 extendfrom the intersection of top wall 114 and side wall 118, while divergingcrease scores 142 and 144 extend from the intersection of the tab 126with the side wall 118.

The crease scores 130 and 132 and, respectively, 142 and 144 permit therespective tabs 124 and 126 to be folded so as to extend inwardly towardeach other across the end of the box top. The crease scores 134 and 136and, respectively, 138 and 140 permit the end portion to overlie the tabportions to define an overlapping folded area, as best shown in FIGURE4. As illustrated in FIG- URE 4, the end of the box top shows a portion146 defined between creases 136 and 138 with portions of the triangularsegments defined between creases 130 and 132, indicated at 148, andbetween creases 142 and 144, indicated at 150. Portions of tabs 124 and126 are also exposed. Thus, there are three overlapping layers ofmaterial which define a folded overlying area which gives an exactduplicate of the appearance had the package been wrapped in theconventional manner. The second embodiment is highly advantageous wherethin cardboard, or its equivalent plastic or any foldable material, isutilized. Where the cardboard or other material is heavy or where greatstrength is required, the embodiment of FIG'UR'ES 1 through 3 ispreferred.

It will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary ofthe invention and that the invention has been abstracted and summarized.Certain variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art inView of the foregoing disclosure. One of the more apparent expedientswould be the substitution of boxes of one size or shape or boxes ofanother size or shape utilizing the principles and practices disclosedherein to give the desired distinctive appearance.

I claim:

1. A prewrapped decorative package comprising:

a box top having a top wall and a plurality of depending sides and endwalls;

a box bottom having a plurality of upwardly extending side and endwalls; said box top and bottom being substantially rectangular inconfiguration and of complementary size and shape to provide that saidup wardly extending side and end walls of said box bottom will be snuglyreceived within the corresponding depending side and end walls of saidbox top;

a covering of decorative material on said box top, said covering beingformed of a generally rectangular sheet of flexible foldable materialand having a portion extending across said top wall of said box tOp andhaving folds and creases overlying at least two of said depending sidewalls to give the box top a wrapped appearance, said covering beingsecured inside said depending Walls to permit the box top to beseparated from the box bottom without discurbing the covering;

at least one flap secured adjacent one end of said sheet extending froma side;

at least one second flap secured adjacent the other end of said sheetextending from a side, said flaps being formed of decorative materialadapted to extend across at least a portion of the end of said box top;

means securing the edges of the sheet sides to the interior of thedepending sides of the box top;

means securing an edge of said flaps, respectively, along the interiorof the depending ends of the box top;

a plurality of folds in the ends of the sheet and the flaps arranged anddisposed to enclose the respective depending ends of the box top in afiat overlying folded configuration;

means securing the end edges of the sheet, respectively,

interiorly of the box top;

said package further comprising a pair of flaps at each end of the sheetcooperating to substantially cover the depending ends of the box top,said flaps normally underlying the folded ends of the sheet;

said tsiheet of flexible foldable material having sides and en s;

oppositely extending tabs secured to the sides adjacent each end of thesheet;

folds substantially parallel to the sides of the material definingdepending side walls;

depending end walls formed of said tabs which extend inwardly towardeach other at the respective ends and folded overlying end portions ofthe sheet secured to said tabs;

a second covering of said decorative material wrapped on the box bottomfor giving the box bottom a wrapped appearance which corresponds to thewrapped appearance of the box top; and

said second covering having a double crease formed therein defining alongitudinal tongue which overlies a portion of the second covering togive the appearance of interfolded edges of wrapping material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVIS T. MOORI-LEAD, PrimaryExaminer.

US. Cl. X.R.

